Jewelry Love Affair

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Meet the designer – the New York jewelry designer Alexandra Mor

I first heard about Alexandra Mor last year, when I found
out that she was one of the 36 international jewelry designers selected by Gemfields
- mining company and the world's leading supplier of colored gemstones, to produce
one-off jewels using its emeralds, rubies and amethysts. Mila Kunis was then
named the company’s newest ambassador and wore the jewels at movie premieres
and award ceremonies throughout 2013. I fell in love with the emerald ring that
Alexandra Mor created for the collection right away*.

I also remember how impressed I was when I first saw one of her
photos. She is not only a very talented jewelry designer but a beautiful, confident and
elegant woman. I read afterwards that she got the affinity and love for design
since childhood, when her mother, a French dressmaker, tailored her clothes by
hand, until she was in her teens.

The Alexandra Mor haute couture house of fine jewelry offers
a signature collection of limited-edition and one-of-a-kind jewelry, as well as
individual, made-to-order pieces.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the artist who
likes to think of her pieces as “heirlooms
in the making”!

1. What are the main
differences between Alexandra before discovering the passion for jewelry design
and Alexandra Mor we know today?

To compare the place I am in right now, versus my younger
years, is truly no different to comparing the experiences, tastes and
perspectives of an 18-year-old girl and those of a 40-year-old woman.

My brand and designs are reflections of my own
journey-to-date, as a woman. There are constantly juxtapositions between the
hard and soft; my love for history; maintaining the significance of old-world
craftsmanship, whilst maintaining my pursuit to interpret contemporary
aesthetics and technologies employed.

My first collection was made after I was invited to have a
piece of mine included in the ‘Spring 2010’ lot with auction house Phillips de
Pury. From there, the pieces developed into a very bold, geometric collection
of work.

Ever since the launch at Phillips, I have designed pieces
that always aim to celebrate the wearer, but there is a softer direction for
the new pieces I am adding to my Signature Collection this Fall. These are
being made to celebrate the launch of my first retail location, the Alexandra
Mor Salon, in Boston.

My personal experiences always find their way into my work,
and will influence the choices I make during the design process. These upcoming
additions to the Signature Collection will be softer, curvier and rounder in
design.

The lines will be less severe and restricted, but will
maintain feminine touches with a neo-futuristic edge – a little similar to the
way I have been dressing this past Spring!

Within my Collection of one-of-a-kind jewels is a pair of
Emerald and Diamond Drop Flower Earrings, which were worn in a recent editorial
by the beautiful Brooke Shields. This pair of earrings took 17 months to craft,
as I wanted to perfectly arrange the Diamonds that complement a pair of 53
carat Emerald stones, which were given to me by my father-in-law, master
diamond cutter Abe Mor. There are 175 gradually colored Diamonds that drop down
on these earrings, and almost look like a gradient with the Diamonds in White,
Green, Yellow, Peach and Pink tones.

Gemstones are like people. Each have a unique character and
story, and so each can bring a different stimulus to the design process. I love
real personalities, so I tend to love gemstones with quirk and character, too!

I do gravitate towards larger sized stones, and stones with
perfect cuts. The overall symmetry and proportion of the gem I use, does play a
big role in my work process. This will then influence the way I approach a
stone, to then design into a piece, rather than exclusively selecting on the
type of stone itself.

Diamonds, however, are a lot of fun to work with by
themselves. With that said, when Diamonds surround any large center stone, they
never take away from that stone, and only enhance the beauty of other
surrounding stones from the Diamonds. It’s a win-win situation!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

La femme fatale

The fact that women, besides disabled or elderly persons, children,
Roma people or national minorities etc, are being considered a vulnerable group
has always intrigued me.

To some extent, I can understand the explanation behind
it – a simple search on the internet, on this issue, leads you to several human
rights organizations, which state that “these
are particular groups who, for various reasons, are weak and vulnerable or have
traditionally been victims of violations and consequently require special
protection for the equal and effective enjoyment of their human rights.” (Icelandic
Human Rights Centre)

Briefly said, these groups are especially vulnerable to
abuse of human rights.

It just seems unfair to put it this way as we all are human
beings. After all, it’s not all about the physical strength if it’s
up to be said what would be the main characteristic that differentiate men from
women which offers them the supreme advantage of not being categorized as such.

We've all seen women in leading roles in politics or
achieving excellent results in science for example. What about femme fatale? Does that kind of woman look vulnerable
to you?

Saturday, July 12, 2014

SOS

"You cannot always tell what keeps you confined, what immures you, what seems to bury you, and yet you can feel those elusive bars, railings, walls. Is all this illusion, imagination? I don't think so. And then one asks: My God! Will it be for long, will it be forever, will it be for eternity? Do you know what makes the prison disappear? Every deep, genuine affection. Being friends, being brothers, loving, that is what opens the prison, with supreme power, by some magic force. Without these one stays dead. But whenever affection is revived, there life revives." Letter from Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo van Gogh, July 1880

Probably every one of us has such episodes in his or her
life, but no matter how painful they are, they make us stronger.

So yes, you might feel trapped from time to time and have no idea
where you’re heading to, but consciously or not you’re working on a better version
of yourself.

Sometimes a SOS cry helps you break the barriers and
receive the support you need from the people who care about you. Then you’ll see eventually that things worked out
just the way they're meant to be.

PS: This is the first post in which I present you jewelry for men. But these jewels are so beautifully crafted that I'd wear them myself. No wonder that 'Man in a cage' pendant has won the "Technical Excellence" award in the sixth Editor’s Choice competition of International Jewellery London. Read more about the winners here.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

The expression of femininity

Not all women love jewelry which is why having many jewelry
items or wearing different accessories every day is out of discussion for them.
But even those women do have few jewels they love to wear because of their
significance: their engagement / wedding rings (which I totally understand why
they’re so fond of) and a pair of earrings. They often are the earrings they
received as little girls or at some point later in their life on a special
occasion.

The earrings have always been an expression of femininity and
it seems mandatory for a girl or a woman to own at least one pair.

I cannot be the kind of woman that sticks to just one pair,
especially when such beautiful creations expect for their wearer:

About Me

Hi there! My name is Georgiana Petcu and I'm in love with jewelry. I simply adore the way jewels can reflect a woman's personality, boost her charm and make her look and feel amazing. I am sure that women who love jewelry and know how to wear it are confident, stylish and sexy and they remain refined even after taking it off.
This blog is dedicated to these women. So, my dear, you are in the right place! I would be delighted to get to know you too. You could write me at jewelryloveaffair@gmail.com or through the comments section available on each post. Enjoy!